Book review: The Goose that Laid the Golden Egg, Accutane-the truth that had to be told: by Dr. Doug Bremner

The Goose that laid the Golden Egg is at times, gripping and emotionally driven.

The author, Dr.Doug Bremner takes the reader along on his deeply emotional and poignant journey in a driven quest to find the answers he longed for since age 4 of the untimely death of his beloved Mother.

Along that journey, Dr.Bremner takes us behind the scenes in the psychiatric and pharmaceutical worlds. Bremner, a psychiatrist at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, describes in detail just what one major drug company did, to attempt to paint him as a fraudulent expert witness and researcher, and seriously try and take him down personally and professionally as a result of his research findings regarding Accutane.

The story of Accutane, the acne drug that was gaining momentum in sales was also gaining momentum in negative statistics--of people acting on suicidal and homicidal thinking, while taking the drug. Bremner's research showing how the brain changed while on the drug is riveting, and it is apparent that Roche didn't like his findings.

Being tried for hours upon hours in over a dozen depositions regarding the Accutane cases, Bremner also takes an emotional journey,to find where his Mother was buried and find her birth family, at the same time.

The connection is a brilliant description of childhood trauma, which left unacknowledged, and eventually brought to the surface during a trying time in court with Roche.

It leaves the reader with the understanding that Bremner, a psychiatrist-- is in fact, a fragile human being, as we all are, and it depicts just how hard it can be to relive or face for the first time, deep emotional burial grounds.

At a certain point in the book, you will be alongside Doug and his siblings on that journey, resulting in standing in a poignant ceremony to finally give his Mother a final resting place.

It is clear that Bremner drew strength from his Mother, and from her memory to continue the Roche inquiries and stand tall in the face of being accused of being a fraud, his published papers were questioned,and so were the motives of finding his mother's relatives by his Father.

Bremner makes sure to add in the Nemeroff and GSK conflict of interest, and the stepping down of Nemeroff from Emory and leaving Emory as a result of his conflicts, and he addresses the pharmaceutical company payments to doctors. Ultimately Bremner shows how he brought down Roche's Accutane, which was eventually taken off of the market.

The poignant story of a grown man finding his Mother's ashes, and making sure she was never forgotten, and one man's stand against a pharmaceutical company is the depiction of never giving up on the people we love, or yourself, and standing up for something that is right, is the core of the Goose that laid the Golden Egg.


I recommend reading this book, I'm glad I did.



Find more reviews and blog posts about his book at Doug Bremner's blog, Before You Take That Pill.